Trip Updates

Belize Dolphin Studies

DS21 Update — Monday, July 18, 2011

First Class Today!!

Wake up call 7:30! I knocked as loudly as I possibly could on each door in order to for people to be prompt for breakfast. Cooper and Michael were not particularly happy to hear from me. We all made our way to breakfast by 8. The French toast was amazing. After breakfast, we gathered our gear and went kayaking around the island. Along the way, we stopped twice to snorkel. Josesphine and I ran into the mangroves more than once. We were later informed that boa constrictors typically like to hang out in the mangroves. Our guide Caesar found a sea star (not star fish!) while kayaking. I was intrigued to find out that there are lobsters in Belize!

Later, we had breaded chicken and fries. Michael gladly took anyone’s unwanted chicken. We had some chill out time before our first lesson! Our cute little classroom was on the Spanish lookout Caye. We discussed what the ocean provides us and why it is important to protect it. We went over the curriculum and received our first assignment. School is much more fun in Belize. As class ended we had another quick break and headed to the backside of the island. Some played volley ball, some threw the Frisbee around with Robbie, some went swimming, and others did a bit of each. I have noticed closer ties between each of us as we learn more and more about each other.

Our goal for the day was to learn one knew thing about everyone in the group and report back at dinner. Dinner was one of the best yet by far. After dinner rituals, we went around the table and shouted out facts we had learned about each group member individually. Some of the highlight facts are as follows….

Mia: Mother has a British accent, Jamaican boyfriend, likes to take pictures, big smile, play basketball and tennis, lives on an islandMichael: likes to debate (he argued this fact so it was decided he debates a lot), has good combats, from Colorado, has funny dreams about his sister, good sense of humorChelsea: horseback rides, from Missouri, plays volleyball, mother has a british accentCooper: lives in Brookyln, falls in mud, like hamburgers, half Columbian, hang glides with his grandmotherGalen: plays the harp and piano, does the tango, lives in Montana, has a kayakRobbie: wrestles sharks, laughs a lot, has a tiger print retainer, got stung by a lion fish, lives in Miami, has a 17 year of cat, fillets excellent lion fish!!!!!Alejandro: has a younger brother, went to Iceland this summer, will soon attend Harvey Mudd, went to the same school Obama’s daughter do, makes robotsSarah: lives in California, high fived a rugby player that picked on Justin Bieber, went to a Wiz Khalifa concert, the lead singer of greenday lives in her neighborhoodCaleb: makes good bear and egg pun jokes, has been to Egypt with Broadreach, from tampaVictoria: her aunt is a mounty, Canadian, tans easily, is a trained lifeguardNathalie: likes to lay in the sun, is sun burnt, likes Maine!, from California, lives 10 minutes from the beach, has a French mother, plays volleyballSammie: lives in woods in Washington, falls asleep anywhere, has a croakie, likes the xx band, has two sistersJosephine: favorite song by lady gaga is paparazzi, bought her shorts at target, her boyfriend lives 4 blocks from Cooper, lives in NYC, has a snake that is currently lost in her houseAbbie: has a husband, from Salt Lake city, ruptured her ear once, has a tattoo, lives in San Diego, is a marine biologist, practices yoga

Dinner ended with us all acting quite more comfortable around each other. We roared with laughter several times, most likely disturbing the honey moon couple next to us. The quote of the day was “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.” by Jonathan Winters. This applies to our trip in that if we did not take the initiative to come to Belize we would be wasting all the potential this trip offers, and all the future memorable times we will share in the next three weeks.

Broadreach in action.Want a glimpse of the freedom of life on a yacht? Or the thrill of diving with sharks in Fiji, surfing in Baja or cresting the ridge above Machu Picchu? Watch our videos to see and hear our adventures firsthand, and start wishing you were there.